Teachers' Union: Cut Sports, Not Classrooms

The Elk Grove Unified School District may lay off over 400 employees later this spring if voters and the legislature don't approve Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax extensions to balance the state budget. And that was just part of the grim picture presented to boardmembers at Tuesday's school board meeting, the Elk Grove Citizen reports.

After several years of slashing programs and negotiating concessions with employee unions, the district is preparing for a worst-case scenario of having to trim $40 million from an already-bare-bones budget. Layoff notices would be issued by March 15.

Elk Grove Patch spoke Wednesday with Tom Gardner, president of the Elk Grove Education Association, which represents the district's 3000 teachers. About 10 percent of his union's members would lose their jobs if the board enacts the budget proposed at Tuesday's meeting.

Gardner said the proposed budget "would devastate a number of programs, increase class sizes, decrease supplies and it’s just a continuation of all the things we’ve done in last couple years and that we've tried to avoid."

Gardner said rather than cutting across the board, the district should try to keep as much of the damage away from the classroom as possible. He said the district spent $1.6 million on athletics this year—money that could be used for academics instead.

"We think that could save 50 teachers," he said.

The union also advocates returning all schools to the traditional nine-month school year, which it says would allow the district to close buildings during the summer and trim administrator salaries.

District spokesperson Elizabeth Graswich said the district is considering moving some elementary schools from a year-round to a traditional schedule.

As for cutting sports, she said, the district fears that would cause some students to leave Elk Grove Unified, opting for private school or another public district with athletic programs. The district's budget plan does call for trimming sports spending by 10 percent, she said.

"There's also the portion of athletics that keeps kids in school, gives them a reason to want to be there and keep their grades up," Graswich said.

And after years of revenue failing to keep pace with a booming student population, district officials say, savings that don't directly impact the classroom are becoming harder and harder to find.

"I've been in this business since 1974 and never have I seen a situation as bad as this," Superintendent Steven Ladd said at an earlier board meeting. "It's almost like we're going to turn the keys over to the state and say 'Hey, you run this.' Because I don't know how we're going to keep this up."

The school board will vote February 22 on whether to issue the layoff notices.